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Global Research Landscapes and Emerging Trends in Music Therapy for Older Adults: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
Phanphairoj K, Chumwichan S, Thato R, Udtaisuk D, Romadlon DS, Krongtham P, Hasan F.. F1000Res, 2026-08-24
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Background: Music therapy is a crucial nonpharmacological intervention in geriatric care that can improve cognitive function, emotional well-being, and adjustment during transitions to long-term care. However, several research gaps, including variability in study designs, limited evidence regarding long-term efficacy, and unclear mechanisms of action, limit such therapy’s systematic implementation. We performed bibliometric analysis to examine global research on music therapy involving older adults and identify major contributors, collaboration networks, and key themes in this area of research. Methods and findings A comprehensive search of the Scopus database was conducted to identify relevant articles published from inception through February 2026. We used bibliometric methods to analyze annual publication trends, geographic and institutional productivity, international collaboration patterns, author influence, and keyword co-occurrence. Data visualization and network mapping were performed using VOSviewer and the Bibliometrix package in R. The analysis included 5253 publications. China had the highest publication output (705), followed by the United States (675) and the United Kingdom (309). Italy had the highest level of international collaboration (multiple country publication ratio: 31.5). The University of Toronto was the most productive institution (92 publications). Coauthorship analysis identified six international collaboration clusters. Keyword analysis revealed dementia, quality of life, depression, and cognitive function to be key research themes. Conclusion Research on music therapy for older adults is a rapidly expanding and involves strong global collaboration. Our bibliometric findings identify influential countries, institutions, and research networks and indicate that current research generally focuses on demonstrating efficacy for neuropsychiatric symptoms. Future studies should place greater emphasis on understanding mechanisms of action, developing personalized interventions, and evaluating implementation strategies to support the integration of evidence-based music therapy into routine geriatric care.
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APA 7th
Phanphairoj, K., Chumwichan, S., Thato, R., Udtaisuk, D., Romadlon, D. S., Krongtham, P., et al. (2026). Global Research Landscapes and Emerging Trends in Music Therapy for Older Adults: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis. F1000Res. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.187349.1
Vancouver
Phanphairoj K, Chumwichan S, Thato R, Udtaisuk D, Romadlon DS, Krongtham P, et al. Global Research Landscapes and Emerging Trends in Music Therapy for Older Adults: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis. F1000Res. 2026. doi:10.12688/f1000research.187349.1.
BibTeX
@article{phanphairoj2026-8a036e9a,
author = {Phanphairoj, K. and Chumwichan, S. and Thato, R. and Udtaisuk, D. and Romadlon, D. S. and Krongtham, P. and Hasan, F.},
title = {{Global Research Landscapes and Emerging Trends in Music Therapy for Older Adults: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis}},
journal = {F1000Res},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.12688/f1000research.187349.1},
url = {https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.187349.1}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Keyword analysis revealed dementia, quality of life, depression, and cognitive function to be key research themes.
- Our bibliometric findings identify influential countries, institutions, and research networks and indicate that current research generally focuses on demonstrating efficacy for neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Study details
- Participants5,253
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multicenter collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 30 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 52 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (F1000Res) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 3 / 4 | 5,253 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multicenter collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 30 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 30 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 52 out of 100. |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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